What Have You Fettled Today?

[Tom B]

Pleased the tyres went on without trauma! You may notice they lose some pressure overnight, especially when new. Mine go from 60 to 50 psi after a couple of days then the rate of loss reduces. Experience suggests they lose less as they spend longer on the rim although I pump up before most rides.

Pump up before most rides...?

Remind me again of the benefits of tubeless for most folk?


After having a puncture problem with one of my clunkers Ive been running "slime alike" tubes and the puncture problem reduced... At least until it met a clout nail which went in one side and out the other .

 

[Andy in Germany]

After 7 punctures ( 3 different bikes) already this year, I've made the switch to tubeless on my most used bike, the Ribble.

I'm genuinely confused here: why does going tubeless reduce punctures?

 

[geocycle]

I'm genuinely confused here: why does going tubeless reduce punctures?

Well, you are very unlikely to get pinch punctures at low pressures and some, perhaps most piercings from glass and thorns will self seal rather than stopping you at the side of the road. I find ride quality improves at 50 to 60 psi on 28 mm rather than say 70-80 psi needed with tubes. But my experience suggests it’s not really worth it for me, except perhaps for those running wider tyres.

 

[bruce1530]

Could feel a "click" every 3 and a half turns of the pedals, so something chain related. But couldn't see/feel any obvious problem or sticky link. Measured chain - it was time for a new one.....

So today - wheels off, gave the bike a "deep clean" and lubed everything that needed lubed.
Cleaned cassette.
De-gunged the jockey wheels.
New chain.
New battery in the Garmin sensor.

Considered taking the mudguards off for the summer - but I'll leave that one for a few more weeks. Repaired a mudguard with a cable tie.

 

[november4]

Tubeless for me is for having better chance of getting home and fixing. I found going from 28mm to 30mm, and lower pressure, much comfier for the chip & seal roads around me

 

[Ridgeback Roller]

I'm hoping going tubeless will negate a lot of the slow punctures I've been getting from the mass of sharp flints that are currently on the local lanes. My MTB tubeless experience suggests that these should self seal even at the higher pressures I'm running on the road. At least most repairs should then be in the comfort of my garage. The bonus of running lower pressures wrt to ride comfort was very evident on yesterday's test ride. (28mm at 60-65psi v 75psi tubed).
Time will tell if it's worth it for road use though.

 

[ColinJ]

I just had a thought... The seatpost clamp bolts had got a bit corroded at one time so I loosened them, lubed them, and then did them back up. The lube has since leaked out onto the clamp surfaces. That would tend to encourage the micro-movements that must be creating the annoying creaks. Maybe I should disassemble the clamp and degrease all its points of contact?

I will do the test ride as things stand now. If the creaks are still happening I'll get the degreaser to work!

I should have tested that change first, but before my test ride I also lubed my seatpost frame clamp bolt and retightened that. (It had been a bit hard to turn so I wasn't sure that it was tight enough but I didn't want to force it.) Anyway... one or both of those changes stopped the creak.

Today's fettling was just cleaning a selection of old sprockets from a bag in my junk box. I am going to turn my singlespeed bike into a 4-speed bike and need the cogs for it. I found a surprising number which might be okay for the bike. Now that they are clean I will have to put my specs on and check for wear. I can see some, but generally they look pretty good. I reckon that they should last me years.

I already have a 29-toother for my bailout climbing gear. I will be using a 15 for my standard gear and have 5 there to choose from. My highest gear will be one of those 12-toothers, which are needed for the cassette lock ring to tighten against so I might as well bring it into use. (There is one on the bike already but I can't use it.) I don't really need a 4th gear but to get the best possible chainline for my 15 I need to have another cog betweeen the 12 and the 15. I have a choice of a 13 (2 available) or a 14 (3 available) and will probably opt for the 14 to use when the 15 feels just a little bit too easy. If the 15 feels way too easy then I could use the 12.

 

[ColinJ]

More work preparing for the singlespeed conversion...

I put new jockey wheels on the old Campagnolo derailleur that I hope to use.

I also filed flats on 5 washers to use as spacers for the chainring bolts when I remove the redundant ring.

(The washers would not fit the back of the spider without those flats.)

I will probably wait until after next Saturday's Garforth forum ride before doing the conversion to 4-speed in case there is a hitch which can't be fixed in time.

 

[Jameshow]

I should have tested that change first, but before my test ride I also lubed my seatpost frame clamp bolt and retightened that. (It had been a bit hard to turn so I wasn't sure that it was tight enough but I didn't want to force it.) Anyway... one or both of those changes stopped the creak.

Today's fettling was just cleaning a selection of old sprockets from a bag in my junk box. I am going to turn my singlespeed bike into a 4-speed bike and need the cogs for it. I found a surprising number which might be okay for the bike. Now that they are clean I will have to put my specs on and check for wear. I can see some, but generally they look pretty good. I reckon that they should last me years.

View attachment 686651

I already have a 29-toother for my bailout climbing gear. I will be using a 15 for my standard gear and have 5 there to choose from. My highest gear will be one of those 12-toothers, which are needed for the cassette lock ring to tighten against so I might as well bring it into use. (There is one on the bike already but I can't use it.) I don't really need a 4th gear but to get the best possible chainline for my 15 I need to have another cog betweeen the 12 and the 15. I have a choice of a 13 (2 available) or a 14 (3 available) and will probably opt for the 14 to use when the 15 feels just a little bit too easy. If the 15 feels way too easy then I could use the 12.

You need to join the dull men's club on FB!!

 

[ColinJ]

You need to join the dull men's club on FB!!

The idea is to encourage other people to have a go at repairing/tweaking their bikes!

I have known riders who can't change brake blocks, fix a puncture, mend a broken chain and so on.

PS There isn't much point in coming to a thread titled "What have you fettled today?" and not expecting it to feature posts where people waffle about their bike fettling!

 

[Vantage]

Owing to the missing strap loops on my new battery I decided to make a battery bag for it. As the battery bag added size to the battery, it again wouldn't fit between the frame tubes. FFS again.
Another 2 strap loops chopped off and filed down and I had to lay the bike down flat and press on the damn battery to squeeze the ba****d in. Job done. What a ******* nightmare. New gear cable, bar ends, grips, chain to lengthen the current one, strapon bottle cage mounts, spacers for the motor, clips for the wiring arrived today to get the bike set up to how I want. Waiting for the flat handlebar then I can sort it all out.

 

[Jameshow]

The idea is to encourage other people to have a go at repairing/tweaking their bikes!

I have known riders who can't change brake blocks, fix a puncture, mend a broken chain and so on.

PS There isn't much point in coming to a thread titled "What have you fettled today?" and not expecting it to feature posts where people waffle about their bike fettling!

I was only pulling your leg!

 

[Jameshow]

As for fettling - mid ride I adjusted my saddle only one notch as there was too much weight on my hands.

Also recently realised I've put the brakes on front to back. Left is back, right is front does it matter??

 

[ColinJ]

I was only pulling your leg!

Yeahbut, I already think that I am an obsessive, boring b*st*rd even without someone hinting at it!

Also recently realised I've put the brakes on front to back. Left is back, right is front does it matter??

2 potential problems...?

1. If one is dual-pivot and the other isn't, you will now have the weaker brake at the front and the stronger one at the back, which is not ideal.
2. If your brakes have slide-in brake blocks then they will now be able to self-eject under braking , which is DEFINITELY not ideal!!!

 

[ColinJ]

Oh, and I just noticed that the mounting bits for the Campagnolo derailleur have gone missing. If I can't track those down then I will just stick my spare long cage MTB derailleur on. It would be overkill though and the old Campag one would look better.